To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his oral statement of 8 February 2000, Official Report, column 133, what is his definition of (a) a Nationalist and (b) a Republican. [109589]

[holding answer 11 February 2000]: Nationalists are those who support the SDLP, and Republicans are those who support Sinn Fein.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland have been (a) shot and (b) mutilated by terrorists since the Good Friday Agreement. [110057]

[holding answer 14 February 2000]: The following table shows the number of persons injured as a result of terrorist attacks during the period 10 April 1998 to 10 February 2000.

Persons injured
Gunshot wound	155
Explosion	456
Other	1,811
Total	2,422

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland have been murdered by terrorists since the Good Friday Agreement. [110058]

[holding answer 14 February 2000]: During the period 10 April 1998 to 10 February 2000, there have been a total of 49 deaths recorded as being attributable to the security situation in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland have been hospitalised following beatings by terrorists since the Good Friday Agreement. [110056]

[holding answer 14 February 2000]: It is not possible to state how many were hospitalised but the following table shows the number of casualties as a result of paramilitary style attacks in Northern Ireland during the period 10 April 1998 to 10 February 2000.

	By Loyalist	By Republican
Shootings	79	46
Assaults	172	88
Total	251	134

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many attacks have been made on the RUC since the Good Friday Agreement. [110053]

[holding answer 14 February 2000]: The following table shows the number of attacks on police during the periods 10 April 1998 to 10 February 2000 and includes all attacks as a result of terrorist activity and serious public disorder.

Type of attack	Number
Firearms	23
Explosive	45
Missile1	2,348
Assault	6
Other2	279
Total	2,901
1 "Missile" includes petrol bombs, stones, bottles, etc.
2 "Other" includes minor assaults (not resulting in injury)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) oral and (b) written representations he has received from members of each party represented in the House and the Northern Ireland Assembly on the subject of the Disqualifications Bill indicating in each case the date on which representations were received; and if he will place a copy of each representation in the Library. [107629]

[holding answer 31 January 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 10 February 2000 by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Official Report, column 240W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to reform the long-term funding arrangements for police pensions. [109831]

We are closely examining the practicability of establishing a fully funded police pension scheme. This is part of our wider consideration, following a major review, of what long-term changes, if any, are required to the Police Pension Scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists were convicted and fined during 1999 for driving in a bus lane in the Greater London area during the restricted hours of bus lane usage. [110215]

Convictions for driving in a bus lane cannot be distinguished from other offences connected with neglect of traffic directions in the statistics collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will announce plans to restructure the formula governing police authority funding. [110178]

The police funding formula has been subject to continuous refinement since its introduction. The Government do not intend to make substantive changes to the formula during the more general review of the local government grant distribution system that is being taken forward in consultation with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the crime clear-up rate was by (a) force and crime type and (b) basic command unit and crime type, for the year ending September 1999. [110306]

Clear-up rates by police force and crime type are published annually. The next set of figures, for the year ended March 1999, will be included

NSPIS applications
Application	Benefits	Contract status	Supplier	Expected delivery date
Custody	All custody information requirements met, with links to Case Preparation and PNC to provide data to all criminal justice organisations	Awarded	Securicor Information Systems	Mid summer 2000
Case Preparation	Reduces police paperwork, improves file quality, support to witnesses and victims, electronic links to the Crown Prosecution Service, courts and others to speed the criminal justice system	Awarded	Securicor Information Systems	Autumn 2000
Crime and Incident reporting	Reduced paperwork, improved crime analysis and crime and disorder reduction strategies	Awarded	Securicor Information Systems	Autumn 2001
Command and Control	Improved responses to calls for assistance from the public	Awarded	Securicor Information Systems	Early 2001
Human Resources	Improved deployment of available resources	Awarded	ORBIS Ltd.	Spring 2000
Vehicle Procedures and Fixed Penalty Office	Better traffic law enforcement, lower costs, reduced paperwork for police and courts	Delivered	McDonnell Douglas Information Systems	—
National Management Information service (NMIS)	Proactive management of resources to meet national and local performance targets	Awarded	Redfern Ltd.	Summer 2000
HOLMES II	Direct support to detectives in solving crimes, reduced costs and improved use of resources	Delivered	UNISYS Ltd.	—

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure that paper and timber products purchased by his Department come from a sustainable source. [110165]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) for which National Strategy for Police Information Systems applications contracts have been awarded; who will supply them; what are the projected delivery completion dates; and what are the expected benefits; [110307](2) which National Strategy for Police Information Systems applications have been designed to address cross-border crime between police authority areas; [110309](3) for which National Strategy for Police Information Systems applications contracts have not been awarded. [110308]

The Chief Executive of the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) informs me that all of the National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS) applications contracts have been awarded.The NSPIS applications are linked Information Technology systems enabling sharing of information within individual forces and with other police forces. The applications are also linked to the Police National Computer (PNC).The table, provided by PITO, details the contract status, supplier, expected delivery date and benefits for the individual NSPIS applications.

My department aims to purchase only sustainably produced timber and timber products. The Department's current Greening Operations policy (in place since June 1998) contains a specific aim in respect of as possible, wood products purchased by the Home Office should come from forests and plantations that have been independently verified as being well managed. We are continuing to develop and promulgate our Green Procurement policy and emphasise our commitment to considering the environment when making purchases. Our Environmental Action Plan in respect of paper focuses on reducing its overall use and on increasing the percentage of recycled paper used.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that paper and timber products purchased by his Department are independently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as coming from a sustainable source. [110166]

In keeping with my Department's policy to minimise any adverse environmental impact of its activities, the Home Office welcomes the availability of independent certification schemes such as that of the Forest Stewardship Council.Our Greening Operations Policy (agreed in June 1998) encourages the use of ecolabels in procurement and asks purchasers to check environmental claims as thoroughly as possible, particularly with a view to verifying any vague environmental statements.Nevertheless, it would be impractical for us to commit to ensuring that all paper and timber products that we purchase have the Forest Stewardship Council certificate. Our understanding is that the scheme does not yet cover the broad range of products that we are likely to require. Also, we would not want to find ourselves in breach of public procurement rules by being seen to favour the Forest Stewardship Council's scheme over and above any other equally valid certification scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each of the years 1995 to 1999 (1) the average length of time between charge and final disposal of contested cases involving either way offences tried in the magistrates' courts; [110426](2) the average length of time between committal and final disposal of contested cases involving either way offences which are tried before jury after election for jury trial; [110427](3) the number and percentage of those who elected trial by jury who pleaded guilty to different offences from those on which they were committed. [110428]

This information is not collected centrally. Information on the time taken in magistrates courts proceedings is collected by the Lord Chancellor's Department's Time Intervals Survey. In 1999 and earlier years, the survey collected data on indictable (including triable either way) cases completed in a sample week of each February, June and October. From 2000 onwards, there will be four surveys during each year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of appeals to the Crown Court per annum as a result of the provisions of the Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial) Bill (Lords). [110467]

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe), by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 27 January 2000, Official Report, column 250W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has (1) to end the power of magistrates to commit for sentence to the Crown Court; [110424](2) to reduce the sentencing power of magistrates to those available to the Sheriff's Court in Scotland. [110520]

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of the requirement to plead before venue for each of the years 1997, 1998 and 1999. [110425]

Section 49 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 ("plea before venue") provides for defendants in either-way cases to be asked to indicate their plea before the magistrates decide whether to accept or decline jurisdiction. Its purpose is to allow cases in which a guilty plea is indicated, and which might previously have been committed for trial, to be dealt with by the magistrates themselves where the appropriate sentence (after any discount for the guilty plea) is within the court's powers, or if not through being committed to the Crown Court for sentence. The provision was implemented in October 1997, since when (as expected) substantially fewer cases have been committed for trial, but there has been a significant increase in the numbers committed for sentence. Statistics collected by the Crown Prosecution Service show that the percentage of either-way cases committed for trial reaching the Crown Court by way of the defendant's election was 28 per cent. in 1997 and 1998, and 32 per cent. in 1999.

Number of defendants at magistrates' courts committed for trial or sentence for a triable either-way offence1 in 1997, 1998 and January to June 19992
Year	Committed for trial	Committed for sentence
1997	66,456	6,823
1998	51,952	18,185
January-June 19992	25,777	9,533
1 Where the triable either-way offence is the principal offence
2 Data for this period are provisional

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to re-role existing adult prisons as (a) young offender institutions or (b) young offender institutions holding 16 and 17-year-olds. [110436]

The Prison Service is considering a proposal to re-role Blantyre House, an adult male prison to a young offender institution for under 18-year-old juvenile males. This forms part of a strategy drawn up by the Prison Service and the Youth Justice Board for securing further improvements to the under 18 secure estate. The proposal is contingent upon the availability of resources and trends in the prison population. No other adult prisons are being considered for re-role to a young offender institution, or young offender institution holding 16 and 17-year-olds. However, changes in the composition of the prison population may require the Prison Service to consider other strategic re-role options in future.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the future of Blantyre House Prison. [110438]

I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Mr. Shaw) on 7 February 2000, Official Report, column 48W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the current penalties are for malicious calls to emergency services; and what plans he has to increase the penalties. [110314]

I have been asked to reply.The penalties for malicious calls to the emergency services, as to any other party, are a maximum fine of £5,000, level 5 on the standard scale, or six months' imprisonment, under section 43 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 as amended by section 92 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Currently there are no plans to increase these. The penalties came into force on 3 February 1995, and include the option of a custodial sentence for the first time.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to change the arrangements for the publication of the Charity Commission's Annual report. [111225]

I have agreed that in future, the Charity Commission's Annual Report should be prepared on a financial year basis, rather than a calendar year basis. As a transitional measure, the next Annual Report will cover the 15 month period, 1 January 1999 to 31 March 2000 and should be published this Autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Boundary Commission for England intends to start the next general review of constituencies in England. [111226]

The Commission has given notice of its intention to commence a general review forthwith. It is required to report between April 2003 and April 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for changes to the 1999–2000 Departmental Expenditure Limits and running costs limits within his responsibility. [111227]

Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates, the Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL), which covers Class IV Vote 1 (Home Office administration, police, probation, immigration and other services, England and Wales) and Vote 2 (Prisons, England and Wales), will be decreased by £71,496,000 from £7,763,444,000 to £7,691,948,000. The running cost limit will be decreased by £1,141,000 from £2,137,953,000 to £2,136,812,000. A separate running cost limit of £163,000 has been established for expenditure on Welfare to Work.The changes are the net effect of the following transfers: £60,000 to the Department of Health (Class II Vote 2) towards the cost of the Teenage Pregnancy Implementation Unit; £500,000 to the Department of Health (Class II Vote 2) for the publicity campaign costs on teenage pregnancy; £200,000 from the Lord Chancellor's Department (Class V Vote 1), £93,000 from the Crown Prosecution Service (Class V Vote 4) in relation to contributions towards the costs of the Integrated Business and Information Systems Unit; £1,000,000 from the Department for Education and Employment (Class I Vote 1) and £1,500,000 from the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Class III Vote 1) in support of the Youth Inclusion Programme; £411,000 from the Welsh Assembly (Class XIV Vote 1) to support Closed Circuit Television projects in Wales; £20,000 to the Department of Health (Class II Vote 2) for the development of a handbook for drug service commissioners; £25,000 from the Cabinet Office (Class XVII Vote 1) in relation to the transfer of posts from the security facilities division; £600,000 to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Class VII Vote 1) as contribution towards two overseas drug prevention projects; £9,612,000 from the DEL Reserve in respect of costs arising from the Kosovan humanitarian evacuation programmes; £176,000,000 from the DEL Reserve in respect of asylum support costs; £3,980,000 to the Scottish Executive for asylum seekers support arrangements; £233,000 to the Northern Ireland Office (Class XV Vote 1) in respect of legal services provided to the Northern Ireland Office; £56,000 from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Class VII Vote 1) to cover the short-term attachment of the former Director of Operations (North) to the South African Department of Correctional Services; £45,000,000 from the DEL Reserve to fund the payment of special grant to local authorities for Kosovan evacuees. In addition, £300,000,000 in the DEL for asylum support costs has been reclassified as Annually Managed Expenditure.The decrease in the department's running costs limit is the net effect of the following transfers: £60,000 to the Department of Health towards the costs of the Teenage Pregnancy Implementation Unit; £200,000 from the Lord Chancellor's Department and £93,000 from the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to contributions towards the costs of the Integrated Business and Information Systems Unit; £25,000 from the Cabinet Office in relation to the transfer of posts from the security facilities division; £8,500,000 from the DEL Reserve in respect of asylum support costs; £233,000 to the Northern Ireland Office in respect of legal services provided to the Northern Ireland Office; £56,000 from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to cover the short term attachment of the former Director of Operations (North) to the South African Department of Correctional Services; £6,000,000 from the Prison Service's running costs to fund the issue of long term loans to the Forensic Science Service; £3,722,000 from the Departmental Unallocated Provision (running costs element) to other current expenditure to fund the purchase of DNA services from the Forensic Science Service.These changes will be offset by transfers or a charge on the Reserve and will not, therefore, add to the planned total of public expenditure.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to her answer of 21 December 1999, Official Report, column 573W, what restrictions were placed on contractors carrying out research projects funded by her Department in 1999 in respect of them discussing their findings with journalists (a) before and (b) after publication. [108195]

All research contracts placed using Cabinet Office standard terms and conditions of contract include the requirement for departmental consent to be granted prior to the disclosure of any information to journalists, both before and after publication. A copy of the standard Cabinet Office terms and conditions, which include the relevant conditions, has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if it is his policy to ensure parity of subtitling across BBC1 and BBC2 and the new BBC digital channels before analogue switch-off. [106972]

[holding answer 26 January 2000]: The provision of subtitling on BBC services is a matter for the BBC Governors and their policy is at least to match the targets set for any other broadcaster. I understand from the BBC that they have concentrated on subtitling their most popular analogue services and this has inevitably led to a disparity between BBC1 and BBC2. As a result, 63 per cent. of BBC1 is currently subtitled and 53 per cent. of BBC2. On digital services, 60 per cent. of output on digital BBC1 and BBC2 and 30 per cent. on BBC Choice is subtitled. The BBC has recently increased its targets for its new digital channels to 50 per cent. of subtitling within five years and 100 per cent. within ten years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the future role of Exercise England in setting standards and regulations. [110088]

I understand that Exercise England is currently in the hands of the liquidator. Sport England is now looking to safeguard standards by buying out Exercise England's register of members and the rights to its standards and regulations database. Sport England is also considering which organisation would be most suitable to take on this responsibility in future.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what Remploy products his Department has purchased in the last three years. [109937]

My Department has no records of purchasing any Remploy products in the last three financial years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what was the average amount of National Lottery grant awarded (a) per region and (b) per parliamentary constituency in each year since 1995; and if he will make a statement. [109923]

The tables show the average amount of National Lottery grant awarded (a) by English region and (b) by UK parliamentary constituency in each year since 1995. These figures have been taken from the National Lottery Awards database which has been compiled using information supplied by the lottery distributing bodies. The tables exclude lottery awards not attributed by the distributing bodies to a particular constituency or region. The constituency or regional information relates to the address to which the lottery award was sent.

£
Year	Average amount of grant awarded per English region
1995	108,548,057
1996	185,166,968
1997	267,196,685
1998	139,391,778
1999	102,335,368
20001	5,224,042
1 Correct to 11 February 2000

£
Year	Average amount of grant awarded per parliamentary constituency
1995	1,480,532
1996	2,529,394
1997	3,647,867
1998	1,902,230
1999	1,387,355
20001	69,723
1 Correct to 11 February 2000

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received on broadcasting Welsh and Gaelic language television programmes throughout the United Kingdom; and what proposals his Department has in this area. [110285]

My Department does not keep a separate record of such representations. S4C has already made its Welsh programmes more widely available on its digital satellite platforms while, in relation to Scottish Gaelic broadcasting, a task force established by the Scottish Executive is currently considering future provision; my Department is keeping in touch with its work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he will make an announcement about the establishment of a panel to advise on works of art which may have been looted during the Nazi era. [111224]

I am very pleased to be able to announce that the right hon. Sir David Hirst' has agreed to chair a Spoliation Advisory Panel to consider and advise on claims from anyone who lost possession of a cultural object during the Nazi era where such an object is now in the possession of a UK national collection or in the possession of another UK museum or gallery established for the public benefit.The draft terms of reference for the Panel are set out below and I am now inviting interested organisations and individuals to let me have their views before these are finalised.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the Health and Safety Executive and BNFL to report on the situation at Sellafield; and if he will make a statement. [111334]

Three HSE reports on the Sellafield site will be published by HSE tomorrow, Friday 18 February. BNFL's report into the data falsification incident at its MOX demonstration facility at Sellafield will also be published tomorrow. I will make arrangements for copies of the three HSE reports and the BNFL report to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Government of Zimbabwe has paid for (a) the Hawk aircraft and (b) the spare parts for these aircraft for which export credits guarantee support has been given. [109729]

[holding answer 14 February 2000]: ECGD supported bank loans to finance the sale of Hawk Aircraft and associated equipment to Zimbabwe in 1981 and 1989. These loans have been repaid.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to enable GO-East to manage the Objective 2 Programme in the Eastern Region. [110137]

In deciding on my Department's contribution to GO East's running costs for the financial year 2000–01 I shall have regard to the additional administrative demands which will arise if the European Commission agrees to a substantial Objective 2 Programme in the East of England.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with Turkey about the impact of the plans for the Ilisu Dam on neighbouring countries; and if he will make a statement. [110029]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State personally has had no discussions with Turkey about this matter. ECGD and FCO officials are continuing discussions with the other export credit agencies involved and the Turkish authorities on a number of issues, of which this is one.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the export licences for defence equipment to Bahrain for each of the past five years, indicating the amount underwritten by the ECGD. [109488]

[holding answer 14 February 2000]: The entry in the relevant legislation under which the export of goods is controlled is known as their rating. The Export Control Organisation's computer databases have been interrogated. Between 1 January 1995 and 1 May 1997, 71 Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) and 19 Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs) were issued covering the export to consignees or end-users in Bahrain of goods subject to control by being listed in Part III of Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994, commonly known as the Military List.As regards export licences granted for the export of military goods to Bahrain between 2 May 1997 and 31 December 1998, details of export licensing decisions in this period were set out in the Government's Annual Reports published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in March and November 1999. The Reports give details of the military equipment licensed for export during the periods as well as the ratings of these goods. Similar details of the military equipment licensed in later years will be set out in the relevant Annual Reports.As regards licences granted since 1 January 1999, the Export Control Organisation's computer databases have been interrogated. Between 1 January 1999 and 31 January 2000, 17 SIELs and 14 OIELs have been issued covering the export of the relevant goods to Bahrain. A breakdown of the licences issued between 1 January 1995 and 1 May 1997 and between 1 January 1999 and 31 January 2000 are set out in the tables.Individual licences may cover a range of goods with various ratings (and OIELs may also cover a range of countries). Where this is so, the licence is included in the table in the total for all of the relevant ratings.

Standard Individual Export Licences issued for the export to Bahrain of goods on the Military List
Rating	1995	1996	1 January 1997 to 1 May 1997	1 January 1999 to 31 January 2000
ML1	10	9	3	9
ML2	2	0	0	3
ML3	2	5	1	2
ML4	1	3	0	0
ML5	1	1	0	4
ML6	0	2	0	0
ML7	4	2	1	0
ML9	0	1	0	0
ML10	1	1	0	2
ML11	2	6	2	0
ML13	0	2	1	0
ML15	4	3	0	1
ML24	0	1	0	0
PL5006	1	1	0	0
PL5017	0	0	0	3
PL5018	1	1	0	1
PL5021	0	1	0	0
PL5032	0	1	0	0

Open Individual Export Licences issued for the export to Bahrain of goods on the Military List
Rating	1995	1996	1 January 1997 to 1 May 1997	1 January 1999 to 31 January 2000
ML1	0	0	0	1
ML2	0	0	0	1
ML3	0	0	0	1
ML4	0	2	0	2
ML5	0	3	0	7
ML6	0	2	0	3
ML11	2	5	0	6
ML13	1	5	0	1
PL5006	0	0	0	1
PL5017	1	1	0	1
PL5030	0	0	0	1

This information does not cover any Media OIELs that may have been issued during this period. Media OIELs authorise the export to all destinations of protective clothing, mainly for the protection of aid agency workers and journalists, when working in areas of conflict.This information should be considered in light of the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Mr. Berry) on 27 July 1999, Official Report, columns 307–08W.In addition, Bahrain is a permitted destination on certain Open General Export Licences, covering the export of goods on the Military List; copies of all Open General Export Licences valid at any time during the period are in the Library of the House.As regards export credit, ECGD has not provided cover in support of the export of any defence related equipment to Bahrain in any of the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the circumstances in which it is possible to revoke arms export licences. [110167]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Crosby (Mrs. Curtis-Thomas) on 14 July 1999, Official Report, columns 155–56W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of the ATMs earmarked for post offices have been installed; and if he will list their whereabouts. [110175]

I understand from the Post Office that the first of the ATMs under the new partnerships will be installed during the summer. The sites are still being agreed but they will be located at post offices across the whole of the UK, in both rural and urban areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria will be used to decide the location of the ATMs to be sited at sub-post offices. [110174]

I understand from the Post Office that all offices in the Post Office network will be considered for an ATM. The selection process and criteria used for selection are commercial and operational matters for the Post Office and its partners.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the Post Office and banks concerning (a) the criteria to be used for locating ATMs in post offices and (b) the additional income to sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses ATMs are planned to generate. [110176]

These are commercial and operational matters for the Post Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in each year since 1979, how many sub-post offices have closed; and how many of that number closed because no-one was prepared to take the business over following the (a) death and (b) retirement of the sub-postmaster or sub-postmistress. [110177]

I understand from the Post Office that the numbers of sub-post offices which have closed in each financial year since 1978–79 are as follows:

	Number of sub-post offices	Closures in the year
1978–79	21,213	21
1979–80	21,056	157
1980–81	20,894	162
1981–82	20,832	62
1982–83	20,734	98
1983–84	20,499	235
1984–85	20,110	389
1985–86	19,796	314
1986–87	19,708	88
1987–88	19,572	136
1988–89	19,537	35
1989–90	19,532	5
1990–91	19,471	61
1991–92	19,141	330
1992–93	19,041	100
1993–94	18,982	59
1994–95	18,826	156
1995–96	18,761	65
1996–97	18,645	116
1997–98	18,407	238
1998–99	18,175	232

No detailed records are kept on reasons for closure. In many cases closure would have been the result of no one being prepared to take over the business.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has taken to ensure that paper and timber products purchased by his Department come from a sustainable source. [110149]

The Department's Estates and Facilities Management Directorate has established an Environmental Management System. This system requires all timber products to be purchased from a sustainable source.The Department encourages staff to purchase recycled paper where practicable; at present recycled paper accounts for some 44 per cent. of consumption.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has taken since 1997 to reduce the administrative burden on small businesses. [109562]

[holding answer 14 February 2000]: One of the key steps has been to establish the Small Business Service, which is to be formally launched in April this year. One of the primary functions of the Small Business Service will be to find ways of reducing the regulatory burden encountered by small business, by eliminating unnecessary regulations wherever possible and ensuring that the "Think Small First" principle is applied across Whitehall to all new regulations. The Small Business Service will also encourage Government Departments to make information on regulations more comprehensible and accessible, including through an SBS gateway.Other important measures taken by the Department include exempting small shops from the EU requirement to unit price pre-packaged goods in fixed quantities and exempting employers with 20 or fewer employees from the trade union recognition procedures in the Employment Relations Act 1999. In addition we have recently consulted on proposals to increase the threshold below which companies are not required to have their accounts independently audited.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what quantity of nuclear fuel containing reprocessed uranium has been (a) licensed for export and (b) subsequently exported by BNFL to South Korea for use in the Hanaro research reactor at Daeduk; and what bilateral nuclear co-operation agreements are in force between the United Kingdom and South Korea. [109908]

An export licence was granted on 11 November 1997 for the export of up to 50kg of recycled low enriched uranium powder to the Republic of Korea for research and development on nuclear fuel. My officials have been informed by the company that a shipment of 43.7kg of uranium was made under this licence in 1998. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.The UK has an agreement with the Republic of Korea for Co-operation in the Peaceful uses of Nuclear Energy which was presented to Parliament in June 1992 (cmnd 1961).

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list those firms participating in the BRITECH initiative in (a) Israel and (b) Britain. [109540]

The BRITECH Foundation Ltd., which administers the BRITECH Fund, has recently been established. The Foundation has not yet made any grants from the Fund to UK or Israeli firms.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Government have to ratify ILO Convention No. 177 on Home Work; and if he will make a statement. [110381]

The Government are committed to fair and decent minimum standards for all workers, including those who work from home. Our approach is fully in line with the principles of the ILO Convention which calls for policies to promote equality of treatment between homeworkers and other workers. The Government White Paper published in December 1997 makes it clear that we are working towards ratification of the Convention, on a basis which does not impose excessive burdens on business.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many requests there have been for the Director General of Fair Trading to examine agreements under section 12 of the Competition Act 1998. [110365]

None. Parties cannot make use of the notification provisions in Part I of the Act until the Act itself comes fully into force on 1 March 2000. The transitional arrangements in schedule 13 of the Act allow parties to agreements made between the time the Act received Royal Assent (9 November 1998) and 1 March 2000 to notify those agreements to the Director General for guidance. To date (15 February) there have been 10 such notifications.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on Hydro-Agri' s plans to restructure their UK operations. [110209]

[holding answer 15 February 2000]: I am aware that discussions are taking place concerning the future of Hydro-Agri' s fertiliser manufacturing plant at Immingham. However, as it is a commercial matter for the company, it is not an issue on which it would be appropriate for me to comment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what identifiable operational difficulties were caused to (a) nuclear power stations and (b) other nuclear facilities as a result of computer and other malfunctions arising from the Year 2000 millennium bug. [110651]

No identifiable operational difficulties occurred at any of the nuclear installations in the UK because of Y2k difficulties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, under the G8 memorandum of understanding, Ukraine is intended to receive international funding for the continuing Chernobyl clean-up operation (a) before and (b) after the closure of reactor number three. [110573]

The G7/EU Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ukraine covers a wide range of support to Ukraine to allow them to close Chernobyl by 2000—including assistance in areas of nuclear safety, energy efficiency, energy investments and the social impact resulting from closure. The MOU does not stipulate whether this support is to be given before or after closure of Chernobyl 3. In practice, much assistance has already been given and will continue after the anticipated closure of Chernobyl this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Britain has pledged as part of the G8 funding for the Chernobyl clean-up operation. [110574]

The UK has pledged $16.82 million to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) managed Chernobyl Shelter Fund (CSF), set up to finance work to repair the sarcophagus surrounding the damaged reactor 4 at Chernobyl, and a contribution of £18.25 million has been made to the EBRD managed Nuclear Safety Account (NSA), which is helping to fund a range of nuclear safety projects, including two pre-decommissioning facilities at Chernobyl. Further G8 contributions to the CSF are under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the UK and EU tariffs applicable to products imported from Ukraine. [110578]

Goods imported from the Ukraine into the EU are charged either the tariffs laid down in the Common Customs Tariff of the European Communities, or, if they qualify, the preferential rates applicable to Ukrainian goods under the Community's Generalised Scheme of Preference.Full details are published in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Integrated Tariff of the United Kingdom, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to phase out the use of peat compost in gardens (a) owned and (b) tended by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [110718]

The Department's current policy is not to use peat compost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportions of the material in (a) cars, (b) computers, (c) refrigerators and (d) televisions are recycled. [110349]

There are no published "average" figures for the recycled content of any of these products. However, there are industry estimates available for the amounts of each product which are recycled at the end of their lives, except for televisions, where the level of recycling is low and no firm figures are available.

(a) Cars—according to figures from the industry's Automotive Consortium on Recycling and Disposal report, 1.8 million vehicles (two million tonnes) came to the end of their lives in 1998. Around 75 per cent. of the material from these vehicles was recovered for reuse.

(b) Computers—the Industry Council for Electronic Equipment Recycling (ICER) estimates waste arisings of 125,000 tonnes of IT equipment per year. In 1997, recyclers handled around 30,100 tonnes of this equipment of which about 35 per cent. was reused and 58 per cent. was recycled, which equates to a recycling rate of 14 per cent. for IT equipment.

(c) Refrigerators—ICER estimate that approximately 90 per cent. of large white goods, including refrigerators, are entering the recycling market. The former Warren Spring Laboratory estimated in 1993 that around 59 per cent. of material in refrigerators is recycled when processed by a shredder.

(d) Televisions—televisions fall into the category generally known as brown goods. ICER estimate annual waste arisings in this category of around 53,300 tonnes, and televisions are thought to make up around 50 per cent. of this total. The recycling of televisions is not as commercially attractive as the recycling of computer equipment. As a result, the level of recycling is low and no firm figures are available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department has completed the report into the affairs of the Custodian of Enemy Property, Palestine. [111238]

Yes. I have arranged for copies of the report to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if all food served at his Department's official functions meets the standards of production required of domestic producers. [109783]

[holding answer 11 February 2000]: The Department has contracted out catering. All food served at official functions by the caterers fully complies with current Environmental Health Authority legislation. The caterers are also ISO 9002 accredited.Our caterers confirm under their specification that all pig and cow meat purchased by their supplier is born and bred in either the UK or Ireland, that the livestock are free range, and not fed meat and bonemeal foodstuffs. Their supplier is audited and verified regularly to ensure compliance with these specifications.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he has taken to ensure that paper and timber products purchased by his Department come from a sustainable source. [110163]

The Lord Chancellor's Department includes a requirement in specifications for plain paper, and paper for publications, that any virgin wood pulp is to be sourced from sustainably managed forests. My Department also specifies that all timber products be sourced from independently verified sustainable sources and that no products supplied to us are made from rare woods as classified by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will ensure that paper and timber products purchased by his Department are independently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as coming from a sustainable source. [110164]

The Lord Chancellor's Department already requires all timber and timber products to come from independently verified sustainable sources. No accreditation body is currently specified for certificates, but the supplier of our plain paper is part of a group supporting the verification of forestry management standards via the Forest Stewardship Council accreditation process.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what budget requirements he has set for the Greater London Authority, Transport for London, the London Development Agency, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority for 2000–01; and what will be the Greater London Authority's precepts for that year. [111119]

After considering responses to the consultation paper announced on 27 January 2000, Official Report, column 270W, I have today decided not to alter the proposed consolidated budget requirement for the GLA and functional bodies for 2000–01 of £2,178,800,000. The component budget requirements will also remain unchanged. These are:

	£
Greater London Authority	32,500,000
Transport for London	9,900,000
London Development Agency	0
Metropolitan Police Authority	1,830,000,000
London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority	306,400,000

I have determined General GLA Grant at £22,300,000 and today will be issuing on behalf of the GLA precepts totalling £335,702,801. For a Band D council tax payer, this is equivalent to £122.98 a year in the London boroughs and £32.03 a year in the City, of which £1.72 or about 3p a week, is to fund the new GLA services.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he has received the consultants report he commissioned on regional Eurostar services; and if he will make a statement. [111272]

Arthur D. Little' s report on regional Eurostar services is published today. I have placed copies in the Libraries of both Houses.The report considers whether Eurostar services directly serving the English regions and Scotland would be financially viable, and what wider transport and social benefits they would bring. The consultants consulted widely with local and regional authorities and groups. The report provides an independent assessment of the costs and impacts of a range of options.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he has had with each of the London borough councils as to their policy of providing free parking facilities within their borough; and if he will make a statement. [108016]

The Secretary of State's "Traffic Management and Parking Guidance for London", published in February 1998, a copy of which is in the Library, gives advice to the London boroughs on the development of a parking strategy and the level of parking charges, which must be set for traffic management reasons. I am in contact with the London boroughs (including regular meetings with the Association of London Government) on all their transport and traffic management issues.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what child care provision was made available in the financial year 1998–99 for use by (i) his departmental staff and (ii) employees of executive agencies under the control of his Department; what was the cost to parents of this child care; and how many parents used the facilities. [108832]

My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office set out in his reply of 15 February 2000, Official Report, columns 518–20W, the importance of family friendly policies to the Civil Service Reform programme, and action in respect of the pilot studies.In this Department (i) DETR(C) provides 11 subsidised workplace nursery places. The DETR(C) subsidy for nursery places is 48 per cent. The weekly cost to parents for each place for financial year 1998–99 ranged from £79.00 to £84.50. A total of 10 parents used the nurseries during that period.DETR(C) participates in a Holiday Playscheme open to permanent members of staff with children between the ages of five and 12 years. The Department funds 50 per cent. of the cost of places. The daily cost to parents in financial year 1998–99 was £8.06. A total number of 28 parents used the playscheme.Provision of child care differs across the Executive Agencies. Most provide holiday playschemes and subsidised nursery places. The cost to parents for the financial year 1998–99 ranged from £52.00 to £80.00 per week for a nursery place, and between £5.00 to £9.00 a day for a playscheme place. The total number of parents in the Executive Agencies making use of child care provision ranged from five to 40.The Department and its Executive Agencies will reimburse child care costs incurred when work requirements demand a change to a member of staff's normal working hours eg to attend a training course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what provisions are made available to (i) departmental staff and (ii) employees of executive agencies under the control of his Department, for (a) maternity leave, (b) maternity pay, (c) paternity leave, (d) parental leave, (e) flexible working hours, (f) part-time work, (g) job sharing, (h) leave to care for sick children, (i) home-working, (j) term-time contracts, (k) annual hours contract, (l) child care allowances, (m) careers' leave and (n) career break schemes; and what criteria are used to judge eligibility in each case. [108849]

My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office set out in his reply of 15 February 2000, Official Report, columns 519–22W, corporate actions that we are taking as part of the civil service reform programme to improve the balance between work and private life. In this Department (including its Agencies) staff with one year of service or more are entitled to 18 weeks maternity leave on full pay plus up to 34 weeks unpaid maternity leave in the period of 11 weeks before and 41 weeks after childbirth. Staff with more than 26 weeks, but less than one year, of service are entitled to 18 weeks maternity leave with Statutory Maternity Pay and 22 weeks unpaid leave in the period of 11 weeks before and 29 weeks after childbirth. Staff with less than 26 weeks service are entitled to 18 weeks unpaid maternity leave which may be extended by a further 11 weeks.Across the Department, paternity leave ranges from between five and 10 days on full pay. This leave may be taken either at the time of the birth or during the following weeks. Unpaid paternity leave of varying lengths is offered in some parts of the Department. Parental leave applies across the Department as set out in the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999. Departmental staff are covered by arrangements based on the default provisions as set out in the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999.Flexible working hours are, subject to management requirements, available to staff across the Department. A variety of arrangements and opportunities for part-time working and job sharing are available throughout the Department with some parts now opening up all posts to part-time and job sharing unless it is operationally vital that they be full time only. Across the Department paid leave up to five days may be granted to DETR(C) staff to take care of or make arrangements for dealing with the illness of a sick child. Additionally a period of unpaid leave may be granted if the illness continues.Homeworking is available throughout the Department subject to the cost and business implications. Requests to work from home are generally taken on a case-by-case basis. Requests to work to term time or annual hours contracts will be considered throughout the Department. Child care support throughout the Department ranges from participation in subsidised workplace nurseries and holiday playschemes and reimbursement of additional child care costs incurred by attending training or other work events.Career breaks of up to five years unpaid are open to staff throughout the Department. In all the above cases the criteria used to judge eligibility is based on statutory requirements and/or on staff handbooks and particular Agency guidelines. In some cases management discretion will apply.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions in each of the last five years, what proportion of women employees in (i) his Department and (ii) executive agencies under the control of his Department (a) returned to work after childbirth, (b) returned to work after childbirth before the end of maternity leave, indicating the (1) time-range and (2) mean time, (c) returned to work after childbirth on reduced working hours, indicating the average hours worked and (d) returned to work after childbirth full-time and subsequently reduced their hours. [108971]

My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office set out in his reply of 15 February 2000, Official Report, column 519W, corporate actions that we are taking as part of the Civil Service reform programme to improve the balance between work and private life. In this Department (including its Agencies) the number of women who have returned to work after childbirth in the last five years are as follows:

	Women returning after childbirth	Number of which returned before end of maternity leave
1995	129	15
1996	116	22
1997	150	35
1998	141	28
1999	118	25

We are unable to provide reliable information on the time range and mean time for staff returning to work after childbirth and before the end of maternity leave.As regards the number of women returning to work after childbirth on reduced working hours, we do not have figures for 1995 and 1996; however, the figures for 1997 to 1999 are:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what further measures he plans to prevent persons who are unfit to drive from being licensed to drive vehicles on public roads. [109814]

The present legislative and administrative systems are intended to allow only those who qualify to be granted a driving licence. It is not at present planned to introduce further measures. However, the statutory requirement to declare medical conditions that may affect a person's fitness to drive will continue to be reinforced through publicity and, with their co-operation, through the medical profession.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he is taking to combat the avoidance of car insurance. [109579]

Evidence of valid insurance must be produced when a vehicle is licensed and the Vehicle Excise Duty is paid. Police have wide powers to stop vehicles and check insurance. As a result more than 250,000 motorists are convicted of insurance evasion each year. When vehicles are clamped and impounded for not displaying a tax disc an insurance certificate must be produced in order to buy the disc and reclaim the vehicle. The department is supporting the Association of British Insurers in setting up a computerised insurance database with links to the vehicle register. This should be operational by autumn next year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to introduce measures to make the displaying of a car insurance certificate on the car compulsory. [109580]

Display of a certificate would provide no assurance that the driver was covered by an insurance policy or was complying with policy conditions. Although the Government have not discarded the possibility of a requirement to display evidence of insurance, it appears at present that other measures, such as a computerised insurance database, would offer a better approach to the problem of the irresponsible minority of drivers who fail to take out insurance.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the reason for the Chief Nuclear Inspector's recent visit to Japan; and what discussions he held about the purpose of his visit with departmental Ministers and Officials in advance of his visit. [109907]

HM Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations, Mr. Laurence Williams, visited Japan on 7–11 February to brief his opposite number on the conclusions of HSE's forthcoming report "An Investigation into the falsification of pellet diameter data in the MOX Demonstration Facility at the BNFL Sellafield site and the effect of this on the safety of MOX fuel in use". He was not part of the Department of Trade and Industry team visiting Japan at the same time.My Department was briefed by HSE officials about the purpose of the visit. In view of her accountability to Parliament for nuclear safety, the Minister of State for Energy and Competitiveness in Europe met the Chief Inspector and HSE officials on 2 February, following which she wrote to the Chair of the Health and Safety Commission to stress the independence of the HSE. I am placing in the Library a copy of this letter, together with a letter to the Japanese Minister for International Trade and Industry on 26 January about the Chief Inspector's visit.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many cases were heard in 1999 against employers who had exposed their workforce to asbestos; how many employers were found guilty of this offence; and what fines were imposed. [109998]

Information for December 1999 is not yet available.Between 1 January and 30 November 1999, 39 cases were heard for breaches of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987 (as amended). This figure includes cases against both employers and the self-employed, and comprises 100 informations laid, or charges preferred (Scotland). It includes all breaches of the Regulations, not all of which may have been for permitting the exposure of employees to asbestos.The provisional results, recorded so far, indicate that there were 31 guilty verdicts on individual informations laid or charges preferred. One case was referred to a higher court on indictment, 67 cases were adjourned, and a result of not guilty was found on one charge preferred.The fines imposed as a result of the 31 guilty verdicts on individual informations laid or charges preferred were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the average fine imposed in cases heard in 1999 against employers for health and safety offences involving their workforce; and if he will make a statement. [109999]

The average fine imposed on employers and others convicted in Health and Safety Executive cases heard in 1998–99 was £6,654, per defendant. The average fine in such cases, per individual offence, was £5,038. These are provisional figures. The average fine per individual offence following local authority prosecutions in health and safety at work cases was £2,224 in 1997–98. Providing a figure for the average fine in cases against employers for offences involving their workforce would entail disproportionate cost.The general level of fines imposed by the courts for health and safety at work offences has been far too low to properly reflect their true seriousness. In November 1998, the Court of Appeal said in a judgment that health and safety fines were too low and set out factors which should guide future health and safety sentencing. I welcome the Health and Safety at Work (Offences) Bill introduced to Parliament by my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Savidge) which is taking forward the Government's intention to raise the maximum penalties for health and safety offences, especially making imprisonment available for a wider range of these offences. I hope this measure will send a clear message to all employers that society will not tolerate failures to safeguard health and safety.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will assess the advantages and disadvantages of banning motor vehicles from UK cities for a period of one day as part of an experimental environmental awareness programme. [110000]

Our view is that it is for local authorities to assess the case for banning motor vehicles, if they wish to, taking into account local circumstances. I understand that several UK local authorities are interested in taking part in the European Car Free Day on 22 September 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects the Anglian region to meet the requirements of the Urban Waste Water Directive for primary and secondary sewage treatment. [109948]

Following our decision in September 1998 to reverse the previous Government's policy of seeking to apply primary treatment only, for coastal discharges into areas of high natural dispersion, water companies are required to install secondary treatment at all major discharges as soon as practicable. Wherever possible they are expected to meet the initial deadlines set out in the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. The majority of large works in Anglian region already have secondary treatment and we expect these to be compliant at or before the end of December 2000. Seven coastal discharges, into areas previously designated as areas of high natural dispersion, will have secondary treatment installed at or before December 2001. Some of these works already have primary treatment. In other cases, primary treatment will be installed as part of the total scheme to deliver treatment to secondary level.Secondary treatment for smaller works will be delivered as part of the investment programme for Anglian water provided for in the recent determination by OFWAT of price limits for the period 2000 to 2005. These schemes are scheduled to be delivered by the end of March 2005, within the timescale required by the Directive.The Environment Agency has agreed completion dates for each of these schemes with Anglian water. We expect the Agency to make prompt use of its enforcement powers, if the dates are not met.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assistance his Department gives to the UK newsprint industry to encourage newspaper recycling (a) at a local level and (b) at a national level. [110101]

At present, my Department gives no assistance to the UK newsprint industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what recent assessment he has made of the environmental implications of newspaper recycling. [110103]

I have taken into account a range of reports and investigations into the implications of newspaper recycling from a variety of sources. At this stage, there is no common agreement on the precise impacts of newspaper recycling in comparison with other end-of-life options.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will calculate the proportion of newsprint currently consisting of recycled material. [110105]

According to information supplied by the Newspaper Publishers Association, newspaper publishers in the UK use newsprint containing both virgin and recycled paper in varying proportions, and on average recycled paper made up 52.4 per cent. of the raw material for UK newspapers in 1998.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for further consultation on the European Union Directive 96/29 on Euratom. [110172]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Mr. Leslie) on 14 February 2000, Official Report, columns 356–57W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many recorded attacks there were upon public transport employees in each of the years from 1992 to date. [110239]

The only statutory reporting system for attacks on employees in public sector transport is the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR), which came into effect on 1 April 1996. RIDDOR defined, for the first time, an "accident" as including

"an act of non-consensual violence done to a person at work".

RIDDOR requires the reporting of all incidents which cause a fatality or major injury, or result in the employee being unable to work or to undertake the full range of their normal duties, for more than three days.Reported assaults on employees in public transport sectors subject to RIDDOR are as follows:

	Number
1996–97	522
1997–98	577
1998–99	1651
1 Provisional figure

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking to ensure that the residents of the Manor Farm Estate in Scunthorpe receive a definite offer of 100 per cent. compensation immediately. [110311]

On 30 November 1999, my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning and officials of the Department met representatives of North Lincolnshire Council, my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) and also a local estate agent acting on behalf of the property owners, to discuss the issue of compensation. At that meeting a number of options were explored, with a view to seeking the best possible solution and a fair deal for those concerned.From that we believe that a positive way forward, involving the use of "buy back" provisions, has been identified. This, including the proposed compensation arrangements, is now subject to further discussions between North Lincolnshire Council and the owner-occupiers concerned. My Department and North Lincolnshire are hopeful that this will lead to a positive outcome for all concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his Department's advertising budget for (a) 1999–2000 and (b) 2000–01. [110259]

[holding answer 16 February 2000]: The Department's advertising budget for 1999–2000 is £13,160,000 and for 2000–01 is £16,150,000. The Department uses advertising, in conjunction with a range of other publicity activities, to promote its key road safety messages (on subjects such as drinking and driving, speed, using mobile phones while driving and rear seat belts) and environmental awareness messages (through the Are You Doing Your Bit? campaign). The figures provided do not include the cost of statutory and recruitment advertising.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the average cost of issuing a media release from his Department in 1999. [110272]

[holding answer 16 February 2000]: The average cost of issuing a press release in 1999 was £104.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for holding referendums to establish elected devolved assemblies in the regions of England. [110440]

We said in our manifesto that, in time, we would introduce legislation to allow people, region by region, to decide in referendums whether they wanted directly elected regional government. We remain committed to this. However, finding the right arrangements may take time, just as the arrangements for Scotland, Wales and London have taken time.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress of Sir David Davies' assessment of rail safety systems. [110384]

[holding answer 16 February 2000]: Sir David Davies' report on train protection systems will be published shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the secondment policy in his Department. [110672]

The Department has a long history of seconding staff to organisations outside the civil service and of taking inward secondees. There have been secondments with the wider public sector, the private sector and the voluntary sector. The Department intends to build on these links as part of the Modernising Government initiative on bringing in talent and creating a more open civil service.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many second homes entitled to the 50 per cent. council tax discount there are in each district and county/unitary authority area; and what percentage they represent of domestic housing stock in each such area. [110204]

[holding answer 15 February 2000]: I have placed in the Library of the House today a table showing the latest available information on the number of dwellings in each English district and county/unitary authority area which are entitled to the 50 per cent. council tax discount. Not all of the dwellings that receive the discount are second or holiday homes. The Department does not collect separate information on these dwellings. The 50 per cent. discount applies to all unoccupied dwellings and certain occupied dwellings such as those where all of the residents are disregarded—for example, households consisting of someone who is severely mentally impaired and their carer.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people are employed by the National Air Traffic Services at (a) Prestwick in Scotland and (b) in total throughout the United Kingdom. [111005]

The air traffic control facilities at Prestwick comprise the Scottish Area Control Centre (ScACC), which handles traffic over Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the Oceanic Area Control Centre (OACC), which handles traffic over the north Atlantic to the west of the UK and Ireland. The combined facilities, sometimes referred to as ScOACC, currently employ a total of 532 staff, including 217 controllers. The overall number of UK staff employed by National Air Traffic Services totalled 5,372 at 31 March 1999.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he proposes to introduce legislation to enfranchise leaseholders. [110465]

Leaseholders of houses already enjoy rights to enfranchise their property under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, and leaseholders of flats enjoy collective enfranchisement rights under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. We intend to make these existing rights easier to exercise. The first stage in this will be the publication of a draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill for consultation during this session, as was announced in the Gracious Speech given on 17 November 1999, Official Report, columns 4–7. Following that consultation, we intend to bring forward legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what are the responsibilities of his Department in the event of a (a) bus and (b) train operating company going into liquidation. [110251]

[holding answer 16 February 2000]: My right hon. Friend has no specific responsibilities if a train operating company or a bus company goes into liquidation. The Franchising Director has a responsibility to take over the operation of any franchised train operator in the event of premature termination of a franchise, as a result of liquidation of the company or for any other reason, and he has arrangements in readiness to do this at short notice, if necessary. London Transport Buses are responsible for the provision of bus services in London.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what (a) date he was informed of the establishment of a judicial inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday and the appointment of Lord Saville, (b) how many self-loading rifles were submitted for ballistic testing to the Widgery Inquiry, (c) how many of those rifles are available with their original barrels for examination, (d) on what dates were batches of those rifles sent for the fitting of new barrels and for destruction and (e) who was responsible for the decision in each instance; and if he will make a statement. [108485]

The Government decision to set up a new inquiry into Bloody Sunday and the appointment of Lord Saville of Newdigate to chair the Tribunal of Inquiry was announced by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons on 29 January 1998.The Bloody Sunday Inquiry believe 29 self-loading rifles (SLRs) were submitted for ballistic testing during the Widgery Inquiry to the Department of Industrial and Forensic Science. It is not possible to say how many have retained their original barrels; it is highly probable that they would have been re-barrelled at some point during their operational lives, in which case their forensic value would be substantially reduced. Detailed records were not kept of repairs to SLRs and no record was kept of whether a rifle had been re-barrelled, or how many times this may have occurred. The SLR was declared obsolete in November 1997 and authority to commence destruction was given in January 1998. SLRs were therefore recalled for disposal in line with this policy. By the end of January 2000 approximately 116,000 rifles had been disposed of out of a total of 144,000.A list of 29 partial serial numbers, relating to the rifles fired on Bloody Sunday, was sent by the Inquiry to the MOD on 1 September 1999. From the information available it was not possible to identify the rifles until 29 September 1999. Of the 29, 14 were identified as having been issued for destruction on the following dates: 26 January 1998, 13 February 1998, 8 April 1998, 29 April 1998, 30 April 1998, 3 June 1998, 29 June 1998, 10 August 1998, 17 August 1998, 22 February 1999, 29 March 1999, 23 August 1999 and two on 24 September 1999. Ten rifles were identified as having been sold to private companies, leaving the five in the possession of the MOD. Despite an embargo on the movement of the remaining five, two of these rifles were destroyed on 26 and 28 January 2000.Thus 24 of the rifles were disposed of as part of the routine disposal programme at a time when they could not be identified as Bloody Sunday rifles from available MOD records. That two rifles have been destroyed since is a matter of deep regret and an investigation has been launched by the Chief Constable of the Ministry of Defence Police to which officers from the West Mercia Constabulary will be seconded. The Bloody Sunday Inquiry will be invited to send an observer. The remaining three rifles have been secured and the Bloody Sunday Inquiry has been given assurances about their safe keeping.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations have been made to the Northern Ireland Office regarding proposals for a fresh inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday; and what response his Department has made. [108486]

My Department was closely involved in considering the need for a fresh inquiry into Bloody Sunday and it has co-operated fully with the Tribunal of Inquiry chaired by Lord Saville. I am withholding details of internal discussion and advice under Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the cost of the deployment of warships in the South Atlantic in (a) the current financial year and (b) each of the next five years. [109864]

The costs incurred by warships on manpower, fuel, port visits and associated minor costs, while deployed in the South Atlantic in the current financial year are approximately £10 million. Annual costs in future years are expected to be broadly similar.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what UK military units are deployed in support of the UN force in Sierra Leone; what further units he will deploy to the operation; and when. [110516]

None. The UK currently has 15 military observers and six logistics personnel deployed in support of UNAMSIL. There are no plans to deploy formed units.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the budget of the Defence Medical Services in 1998–99 and 1999–2000; what was the budget allocation to the (a) DSCA, (b) DDA, (c) DMTO and (d) MSA in the same period; and if he will make a statement. [109495]

Information on budget allocations within the DMS is set out in the table.

£ million
	Allocation
	Financial year 1998–99	Financial year 1999–2000
DMS total, of which:	276.5	301.7
(a) DSCA	113.4	117.0
(b) DDA	33.8	35.9
(c) DMTO	16.4	21.4
(d) MSA	37.2	48.6

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average time spent in maintenance for (a) Warrior variants, (b) Challenger One, (c) Challenger Two, (d) Saxon variants, (f) AVF 430 variants, (g) Sabre, (h) Striker, (i) Scimitar, (j) Spartan, (k) Sultan, (l) Samaritan and (m) Samson in each of the last five years; what proportion was planned maintenance; what proportions was reactive repair maintenance; and if he will make a statement. [109498]

Maintenance of Army tanks and vehicles is carried out at four levels ranging from low level upkeep (eg tyres, batteries, lights) (Level 1) to major work conducted by the Army Base Repair Organisation or Industry (Level 4). This work, covering some 5,500 vehicles, is undertaken at over 150 locations both in the UK and overseas. Maintenance records are held by the Unit where the work is conducted and a networked information system is being developed to give greater overall visibility of the work undertaken. At present, however, the information is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the numbers of (a) officers and men and (b) civilian workers, there will be at Imphal Barracks, York, following the transfer of 2 Division HQ to Edinburgh. [109446]

The number of people working in Imphal Barracks is currently changing as the Headquarters of the 2^nd Division departs and the Defence Vetting Agency and the Queen's Gurkha Signal Squadron build up in strength. It is estimated that there will be 430 civilian staff in the Barracks by early 2001 and 546 military personnel by 2003.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to raise the educational and training aspirations of young people from deprived areas. [109145]

The new Connexions Service will raise the expectations and aspirations of all young people, wherever they live, by ensuring they receive the advice they need, when they need it, to make a success of their lives. In addition, we have introduced the £350 million Excellence in Cities programme and £60 million Neighbourhood Support Fund to focus specifically on the issues faced by young people in deprived areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans his Department has to extend access to information and learning technology among those who do not own computers. [109146]

We are taking a number of initiatives to ensure that the benefits of information and communication technologies are made available as widely as possible. These include the development of City Learning Centres, community ICT Learning Centres and also a scheme to support job seekers and families on low incomes in getting ready access to computers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of the New Deal, specifying the total number of businesses that have participated to date. [109147]

The New Deal is progressing well, with 179,000 people into work through the New Deal for Young People and over 32,850 into work through the New Deal for Long Term Unemployed People by the end of November. To date 64,900 employers have signed New Deal agreements.